This collection is available in whole for research use. 

This federal records collection is part of the National Archives and Records Administration Record Group 220

Task Force work functions resulted in creating an Office of Private Sector Initiatives as part of the White House Staff Offices. 

 

Collection Description

This colleciont was donated by the U.S. Department of Commerce and consists of 16 linear feet (approximately 32,000 pp.). Works prepared by the U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyright interest of materials written by other individuals or organizations is presumed to remain with them.

INTRODUCTION

On October 14, 1981, by Executive Order 12329 President Ronald Reagan established the President's Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives (PSI). The Task Force was established to advise the President and other Executive agency heads on methods of "promoting private sector leadership and responsibility for meeting Public needs," make recommendations to the President for fostering public-private partnerships, encourage greater private sector involvement in solving community problems, and serve as a focal point to the private sector in addressing public problems.

The Task Force was terminated December 31, 1982, by Executive Order 12399. No final report was published. On January 21, 1983, the President appointed James K. Coyne Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Private Sector Initiatives. On January 24, 1983, President Reagan announced the establishment and membership of the White House Coordinating Committee on Private Sector Initiatives. Michael K. Deaver was appointed chairman of the committee. The committee was established to show the President's continued support for the private sector initiatives program and to implement final recommendations of the President's Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives.

The records of the Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives (PSI), covering the period from October 1981 to December 1982, are organized into three series, the Executive Director's file, the Program file and the Communications file. The Executive Director's file, containing the most significant material within the collection, is divided into two sub-series, the subject file and the organization file, and is arranged alphabetically. The Executive Director's file documents the organization of the Task Force program and staff and activities of the Executive Director and staff. The majority of the photographs within the collection are stored within the Reagan Library audio-visual collection.

The Program file is divided into four sub-series and contains material collected by the Committee on Partnership Initiatives organized under the Partnership Program The subject file is arranged alphabetically and contains examples of community partnerships. Similarly, the state file contains reports, brochures and correspondence pertaining to the partnership program, and is arranged by state. In addition, the meetings and conferences sub-series contains minutes of committee meetings and papers relating to the White House meetings documenting activities of the Partnership Program. The final sub-series includes the Community Partnership Coordinator Michael Robison's correspondence, regarding a community development program.

The Communication file contains program files of the Communications Committee. The series is divided into five sub-series: subject file, speaking engagements/speeches, press, correspondence, and personnel/meetings. The subject file contains project summaries, background material on host organizations, and examples of partnerships including "The Brighter Side of Today's News." Also contained in the subject file are the final individual reports of the eleven committees. The speaking engagements/speeches sub-series includes files of individual task force member speeches and copies of speeches. The press sub-series includes press clippings, monthly press coverage, and press packets. Various correspondence is included in the next sub-series such as congressional, White House state legislature, task force, and general correspondence. The final sub-series entitled personnel/meetings, contains biographies of task force members, travel documents, information on interns, and task force meetings.

Organization and Functions of the Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives

On December 2, 1981, President Reagan appointed forty-four members of the Task Force and designated C. William Verity, Chairman of the Armco Steel Company, as chairman of the task force. The Task Force Staff headed by the Executive Director, Jerry Guth, was organized under five programs: Policy Development, Partnership Program, Information Services, Marketing, and Constituency Action. The Department of Commerce provided administrative services with a budget of $142,000 in fiscal year 1982 and $55,145 in fiscal year 1983.

Task Force members were assigned to two or three of eleven different liaison subcommittees organized under these programs. The eleven subcommittees consisted of: Communications, Community Partnerships, Contributions Strategies, Governors, Incentives, Impediments, Government Liaisons, National Organizations, Marshalling Human Resources, Models, and Recognition & Awards. Meetings of the Task Force and Subcommittee Chairmen were held quarterly. The President, members of his staff , and task force members took an active part in promoting the concept of private sector initiative. The President referred to the PSI program in his State of the Union message of January 20, 1982, and in speeches before the National Religious Broadcasters and National Governors Association. The chairman, William Verity, briefed the President about the program at a full cabinet meeting, February 25, 1982.

DESCRIPTION OF SERIES

Containers Series

1-2 I. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S FILE. 1981-82. (1.0 linear feet)

Correspondence, memoranda, reports of the Executive Director, committee membership assignments, minutes of quarterly task force meetings, organization charts and administrative memoranda, relating to the organization of the task force program and staff and activities of the Executive Director and staff.

Arrangement within each of the sub-series is alphabetical by subject.

3-13 II. PROGRAM FILE. 1981-82 (4.2 linear feet)

Correspondence, published reports, press clippings and releases and copies of printed material about state and local volunteer programs. The material was collected by the committee for information about local programs. Also included are minutes of committee meetings, Michael Robison correspondence regarding the Community Development Program, and papers relating to White House Meetings that document part of the activities of the partnership program.

Arrangement of the subject sub-series and the state file sub-series is alphabetical, and chronological for the meetings/conferences sub-series and Michael Robison correspondence sub-series.

14-40 III. COMMUNICATION FILE. 1981-82. (10.8 linear feet)

Correspondence, press clippings and releases, publications, papers pertaining to the program files of the communications committee. Also included are papers relating to other task force committees, biographies of task force members, speeches of task force members, the President, and his staff, status reports, records of the committee's Speaker's Bureau, and the "Brighter Side of the News" radio program and KAKE-TV project. Also included is correspondence with congress. Arrangement of the subject sub- series , press sub-series, correspondence sub-series, and personnel/meetings file sub-series is alphabetical. The speaking engagements/speeches sub-series is arranged chronologically and alphabetical thereunder.

 

Last Updated: 11/28/2023 10:39PM

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